With the wildfire season officially underway, experts are warning of increased risks due to a combination of drier soil, higher temperatures, and lower humidity. These conditions create an environment ripe for wildfires, and crews are already responding to numerous grass fires in the Lethbridge area.
Troy Hicks, Chief Fire Marshall with the Lethbridge Fire Department, anticipates a busy summer for the crew given the hot, dry weather conditions.
“It’s been a very busy year. We’ve already been busy with grass fires. This past weekend we had numerous ones around the outskirts of town. It’s only a matter of time before it comes into town,” Hicks said.
In response to the heightened risks, Lethbridge County has implemented a fire advisory for the region. Heath Wright, Emergency Services Manager for Lethbridge County, stresses the importance of public awareness and responsible burning practices.
“We would like the public to be aware that we’re in an advisory, and to be careful if they are doing some burns in the community to make sure that they do it responsibly,” Wright said.
“I think everybody’s responsibility is to safety. Due to the dry conditions and drought conditions, we just want to make sure people take the extra step and plan,” Wright added.
According to Stefan Keenzle, a retired University of Lethbridge professor in the department of Geography and Environment, warmer weather is on the horizon.
“The problem with a La Niña year is that it makes the summers even hotter and even drier,” Keenzle said. “So, therefore, we can expect some severe heat domes like we have experienced in the last few years, and obviously with that, the risk of wildfires is increasing.”
Given the current conditions and the outlook for the summer months, fire crews are bracing for a potentially challenging few months.
“We would just like to make sure that people understand to take that extra step and be cognitive of their actions,” Wright explained.
“One example of that would be cigarettes. It’s unfortunate that some people would see fit to dispose of a cigarette out a car window and I would like to strongly encourage people not to do that.
“While, to you, it may not be much and sort of an ‘out of sight, out of mind,’ that farmer’s field could be gone,” Wright said.
Both the county and the fire department emphasize that it doesn’t take much to start a fire and that it can quickly spiral out of control, especially under the current dry conditions.
“We usually say that around here, a normal structure fire, that a fire will double in size every 10 seconds. When we’re talking about a grass fire, for how dry it is here, and even on a nice normal calm day here in Lethbridge, we do still have wind and that fire could easily double in size every two to three seconds,” Hicks explained.
The County of Lethbridge and the Fire Department of Lethbridge encourage the public to stay informed about fire bans, restrictions, advisories, and safety tips by monitoring social media and their websites.
